We appreciate the enormous support that our ABestWeb community has experienced over the many years it has served its members and sponsors. We have decided to exit this business and have placed the property up for sale and we are actively entertaining interest.

In the meantime, community members will be able to read but not post to ABestWeb beginning on Jan. 18.

We want to thank you for your numerous contributions and your ongoing support. If you have any questions, please let us know.

"You may have received a notice informing of an expiration of our current affiliate program. We have decided to terminate our affiliate program at this time. The reason for the termination is a changing sentiment for the way both Inktomi and Google are viewing affiliate programs. Both companies have tightened their website content requirements and are taking action against websites like ours for any violations by affiliates. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope things change in the near future so we can continue our affiliate program. "

I've gotta agree with Leader here. Even if there is "a changing sentiment for the way both Inktomi and Google are viewing affiliate programs" and even if they are trying to tighten the playing field, I don't see the impact on the merchant.

Could it be that they just don't want to pay affiliates anymore and have noticed that their affiliates are better at SEO then they are on there own products? If so, they'll be back when they realize their mistake. When they are, make sure you're not!

Of course, maybe their program just sucks. Either way, you're better off now in my way of thinking.

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
--Mark Twain

Not too surprising. I had a merchant fishing for reasons to drop me, well at least the AM anyway. First they said I may be in violation of their "standards" (related to their brand name, certain number of times their name could be used, etc.). After reviewing their standards, I replied that I was in compliance and that if I missed something to please let me know.

About a week later, they announced I was terminated. When asked why, she said because I had links on sites other than the one I signed up on. Excuse me? Nothing had changed in 14 months and NOW it's an issue? I asked if it was actually because I had the #2 spot on Google for their name, beating all of their other company websites but one. No reply. I also told them how shameful it was to treat a "partner" this way. If the Google rank was the reason, then simply stating this would suffice. Or even, ask for some advice. I told her I would have surely offered advice to help MY partner.

God forbid affiliates should mention their merchant's name on their site. I'm sorry that Google likes my sites. I prompty replaced this merchants' links with their competitors.

Soooooooooo dumb. I bet anything that they got slammed by Florida and Austin. Then, they asked their SEO what happened, and the SEO threw their affiliates under the bus. The painful irony for them, they lost their shirts in the Florida and Austin updates, and now their SEO is telling them to execute their last hope...their affiliates. Baby is out with the bathwater. Sooooooo dumb.

Off now to plug the hole with one of the dozen other ink merhchants. They must all be having a good laugh over this.